Pause Creating Space for Change (limited by guarantee)
Annual Report and Accounts
2022/23
Financial statements for the year end 31 March 2023
Pause, Creating Space for Change Company Registration Number: 09703298 Charity Registration Number: 1170310 Scottish Charity Registration Number: SC049817
Structure, Governance and Management
Reference and Administrative Details
Charity Number: 1170310 Company Number: 9703298 Scottish Charity Number: SC049817
Principal office: 209-211 City Road, London EC1V 1JN
Directors and Trustees
The Directors of the charity are its Trustees for the purposes of charity law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees. The Trustees during the year were:
Nat Sloane (Chair) Vicki Nash (Vice Chair) Philippa Hill (Treasurer & Chair of Risk and Finance Committee) Katherine Gieve (Chair of Practice Committee) Aideen Lee (Chair of Development Committee) Ian Thomas (resigned 30 November 2022) Khatun Sapnara Nimal Jude Helen Causley Peter Gilheany Lara Patel
Senior Staff
Chief Executive: Jules Hillier Director of Business Development: Kate Tilley Director of Communications and Influencing: Clare Laxton Director of Practice and Learning: Ellen Marks
Professional Advisors
Solicitors Auditors Bankers Insurance Brokers K&L Gates RussellMoore Kingston Lloyds Bank PIB Insurance One New Cooke Smith LLP 25 Gresham Brokers Change 2 Putney Hill 9 Appold Street Street Southgate House London London London London Southgate Street EC4M 9AF SW15 6AB EC2A 2AP EC2V 7HN Gloucester GL1 1UB
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Our Year in Numbers During the year women cotnpleled the Pause Progr3mme.vknove 1,383 children rpmoved frotntheircare ++ Women we workwith Women who completed the Pause Pro ramme 93% 76 90% Wdlbwl•njraP¥n 76 74 39% 66 vcai Impr 440/, 62 39% Pause annLJal report and account 2022123
Our work
Mission and vision
We work to improve the lives of women who have had – or are at risk of having – more than one child removed from their care, and the services and systems that affect them.
Our vision is of a society where women who experience the removal of children into care are given the best possible support, so that it never happens more than once.
Pause creates space for change and works towards its vision, through:
This year, Pause continued to focus on four strategic priorities:
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To understand more about how, why and where repeat removals happen.
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To deliver p ractice to those who have experienced or are at risk of repeat removals.
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To learn with and from people affected by repeat removals.
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To influence systems, policy and practice, to prevent it happening more than once.
Activities
Pause Practices
Pause delivers an intensive, trauma-informed programme of support, usually to women who have had two or more children removed from their care. This work is delivered in partnership with local authorities or third sector organisations that host Pause Practices and work within the Pause Framework.
"Being trauma-informed is about understanding that people need time and need support and someone to walk alongside them" – Pause Practitioner.
During 2022/2023, Pause had 26 Practices across the UK. A new Pause Practice opened in Dorset and the Pause Practice in West Sussex reopened. By the end of 2022/2023, Pause Practices were reaching 31 local authority areas.
Sadly, we saw the closure of four Pause Practices: Northern Ireland (due to the political situation), St Helens, Derbyshire and one practice in the Northeast. These closures show that the current funding landscape continues to be challenging. All these practices demonstrated both local need and evidence of impact, but local authorities are having to make tough
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decisions about which non-statutory services they can continue in the face of budget cuts. In addition, we made the strategic decision to support Tayside Council on Alcohol (TCA) and Dundee City Council to continue delivering a service to women in the city without the involvement of Pause.
The income shown in these financial statements represents only those funds that were received or receivable directly by Pause and over which Pause has financial control. Most Pause Practices will also benefit from other funding streams that do not come through Pause but are provided directly to the local delivery partner.
National support for Pause Practices
Pause provides a wide range of support for each Practice, particularly to develop excellent practice and the sharing of learning. Each Pause Practice is allocated an experienced National Practice Lead, who works with the Practice to ensure their work is of high quality and meets the pledges outlined in the Pause Framework. The National Practice Leads facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience across the Pause network, enhancing Pause’s role as a learning organisation. Their role is also to ensure model fidelity and quality assurance.
Practices are supported by the Pause national team to set up and deliver the Pause Programme in their local area, to define and report the impact of their work with women and to secure future funding and longevity. Practices are also supported to deliver a range of internal and external communications and influencing activities.
Making a difference through practice
"With Pause, I feel safe, I feel secure. I don’t feel like I’m on my own. It’s a safe place to go to, where I know I’ll be respected" – woman with experience of the Pause Programme.
In the past ten years, 1,200 women have completed the Pause Programme. At the end of the financial year 2022/23, Pause Practices were working with 570 women (393 women who were ‘active’ on the Pause Programme and 177 women who were in the engagement phase). The 393 women on the programme have had a total of 1,210 children removed from their care - an average of 3.1 children removed per woman. During this financial year, 418 women completed the programme. Amongst the women who completed the programme in 2022/23:
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The average age was 29.3, ranging from 18 to 44 years old.
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43.5% experienced periods of care at some point in their life.
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95.1% self-identified as white, 2.7% as Black, 1.9% as mixed and 0.3% as Asian.
The women who work with Pause have faced many challenges in life, leading to complex trauma. They are likely to have experienced a combination of difficulties, including domestic abuse, drug and alcohol use, mental ill health and insecure housing. Measuring their achievements can be subjective; the priorities are set by the women themselves and for some, simple changes will make a huge difference.
Pause collects a range of data – some from women, some from Practitioners – to assist in understanding and evaluating the impact of our work. A key tool designed to capture this is the Pause Progress tool, which identifies areas of a woman’s life for her to score herself against at set intervals in the programme. For women completing the Pause Programme during 2022/23, significant progress was achieved in all areas, as outlined in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Average progress tool scores.
Pause also measures the psychological distress of women using standardised CORE-10 questions, a monitoring tool with items covering anxiety, depression, trauma, functioning and risk to self.
"The support, encouragement and empowerment from Pause changed my life... the positivity they brought into my life helped me climb out of the negative hole I was stuck in" – woman with experience of the Pause Programme.
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Figure 2 illustrates a significant reduction in severe psychological distress, from 19% of Pause women at baseline (0-3 months into the programme) to 7% at final (18 months into the programme).
Figure 2: Levels of psychological distress.
There is also a strong positive change in average life satisfaction and feeling that the things done in life are worthwhile, both of which are personal wellbeing questions from the Office of National Statistics and have a scale from 0-10. Women have moved significantly closer to the UK average for both measures during their time with Pause, as demonstrated in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Life satisfaction and worthwhileness.
Influencing system change
Influencing system and policy change is a key priority at Pause and vital to achieving our mission. We collaborate with and learn from women and Pause Practices, to make services and systems better for women who have had children removed from their care. Whether it
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is through policy reports, campaign activities or responding to government consultations, we want to ensure women’s voices are part of system changes.
“I feel I am contributing to making a difference and I can’t believe I am involved in that” - member of the Advisory Group.
This year, we continued to work on our influencing priorities - relationships with children and mental health – which are the areas that women working with Pause tell us are important to them and where they most want to see change.
We took our #TimeToDeliver letter about letterbox contact to Downing Street, where we also took a banner women had co-created themselves through craftivism.
We published our report on expert witness assessments during care proceedings, Set up to Fail, which highlights the mental health needs of birth parents, as well as the lack of followup on recommendations for mental health treatment. We hosted an online webinar for professionals exploring our learning, in which we also heard from the President of the Family Division. We continue to work to ensure changes happen in this area.
Following our engagement with England’s Independent Review of Children’s Social Care last year, we were pleased to see the final report and the implementation plan published by the government. The final Care Review report recognised the needs of birth parents and recommended that they are included in support services, which is hugely welcomed. The government agreed and our focus is now influencing the implementation of the Care Review, to ensure birth parents are recognised as part of the family and are able to access support.
We continued to influence on letterbox contact through our #TimeToDeliver campaign activities. We were pleased to see recommendations to improve letterbox contact in the Care Review final report.
Training and development across the network
Pause provides a wide range of training and development for Practice teams and national staff. In 2022/2023, we held 74 online learning events for Pause Practices across the UK, along with three in person events, two of which were Practice Lead development days and one which was our national conference. We had 128 attendees attending the conference. We have completed our second bespoke leadership development programme as part of our professional development work, both for existing and emerging leaders. We will be refining the offer continually to ensure leadership development opportunities for the network, adapting what we have learned from the pilot programme.
In response to our 2022 staff survey, we are developing a wellbeing programme, with selfcare focused sessions interspersed throughout the year.
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External training
After a decade of delivering practice, we believe we have gathered important learning from the women we support. By sharing this learning, we hope to improve other services that interact with women who have had children removed from their, thereby contributing to a more trauma-informed system and ways of working. Along this line, we developed an external training offer, including sessions on:
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Relationship-based practice
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Relationships with children
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Maternal mental health
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Working with women in care proceedings
Learning from women
"I love hearing everyone’s opinions, meeting other women and hearing what they have to say. I always look forward to the [Advisory Group] meetings" - member of the Advisory Group.
Through our Getting Involved programme, Pause supports women to be part of our decision making, our campaigning and communications and to advise and influence our strategy and the board of trustees. In 2022/23, 93 women took part in Getting Involved.
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The Pause Advisory Group met monthly, continuing to build their skills and to influence decision-making at Pause.
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Women across all our Practices took part in our first craftivism project, as part of our #TimeToDeliver campaign on letterbox contact.
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Women took part in four storytelling workshops with SoundDelivery Media, to develop skills and confidence in writing blogs, producing podcasts and using social media.
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Four women co-produced a series of the Pause Podcast, called In a Mother’s Mind, which explores the mental health needs and experiences of women who have had children removed from their care.
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With support from the Advisory Group, we created a Campaigning Toolkit for women, to develop their skills and confidence in campaigning.
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We refreshed the Getting Involved strategy for 2023-25, with the aims of involving women in influencing, improving Pause, delivering activities for women that build their skills, supporting practices to involve women locally, and communicating effectively about Getting Involved.
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Practices have been engaged in sharing learning about how they can involve women locally, and 23 practices (79%) have attended at least one Getting Involved Champions meeting in 2022/23.
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The Advisory Group was supported to write an open letter to the Children’s Minister about the government’s response to the Care Review.
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Women from the Advisory Group were consulted throughout the re-design process of the new Pause website. A key goal of the re-design was to make the site more women-friendly.
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In partnership with Open Clasp Theatre, women were involved in a live tour of Lasagna, a play co-produced by women with experience of Pause and playwright
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Catrina McHugh. Women attended live shows and were part of panel discussions with audiences.
"Working alongside other incredibly strong women with powerful stories, and sharing my own story, has been so empowering to me. I am honoured to have been involved in the production of the podcast episodes" – woman with experience of the Pause Programme.
Taya’s Story
One of the most powerful ways women can help us learn is by allowing us to tell their stories. We’d like to thank Taya for her permission to share her experience here.
Taya is 36 and has had four children removed from her care. When Taya first came into contact with Pause, she was having very little contact with her children and her relationship with her parents - who were caring for two of her four children - had broken down. She was drinking around two bottles of wine a day and using Class A drugs.
Taya was not paying her gas, electricity or rent and was in significant debt. She was being financially exploited by local drug dealers, who were lending her money at a huge interest rate. They would vandalise her home and threaten her when she could not repay. In Taya’s words, she was “broken” and “didn’t have a life” and attempted to take her own life at this point.
Taya was extremely socially anxious. She cancelled many meetings before her first successful meeting with Pause. Taya eventually got into a rhythm of meeting her Practitioner weekly, who supported her to apply for a debt relief order (DRO), which enabled her to pay off most of her debts and to move away from the drug dealers, who were harassing her at her previous address. Taya is now in a new home, paying her rent, gas and electricity bills each month and is enjoying having leftover money for food and self-care activities.
Taya’s Pause Practitioner supported her to start accessing Humankind drug and alcohol recovery services. Taya is now 10 months sober; she is working through a recovery programme and is going to AA meetings. This has enabled her to rebuild her relationship with her parents. She also has improved relationships with all her children. She recently had a positive assessment and is now having unsupervised contact with her youngest son, which has meant he has been able to meet his siblings and the wider family for the first time.
Since graduating from Pause, Taya has continued to take steps toward her goals. Taya is completing a course at Humankind, to become one of their volunteers. She is positive and hopeful for the future, she says: “I have peace of mind… I have a much better quality of life”.
A healthy, happy team
This year saw the continuation of our wellbeing support programme for every team member, as well as our monthly Rest and Recharge Days, during which no one is expected to work and everyone is encouraged to take time for themselves.
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Mindful of the cost-of-living crisis, we reviewed how we approach cost of living increases and brought in an additional payment for those on lower salaries living in London.
We run an annual Pause People Survey for our employees. This year, over 85% of respondents strongly agree that they have a solid understanding of what Pause is trying to achieve. Over 95% of respondents strongly agree that they are fully committed to Pause and what it is trying to achieve, and all respondents strongly agreed that they are proud to be associated with Pause and would recommend Pause as a good organisation to work for.
"Pause is a compassionate and caring workplace, where I feel supported by my team and manager. Being a part of Pause means being able to work with brace and inspiring women every day, both women with experience of the Pause Programme and also colleagues " – Pause employee.
Anti-racism work
Working towards Pause being an anti-racist organisation remained a key priority this year. Following our work with two external consultants, we have included training on key antiracism topics part of our core induction process and training offer for all Pause People. We also published data on ethnicity within children’s services and in Pause Practices. We continue to strengthen our anti-racism training plan supported by experts and members of Black and Brown communities and others who experience racism within Pause and linking to our wider diversity and identity work. This was the key theme at the 2022 conference.
Looking Ahead
2023 marks the ten-year anniversary of Pause, as well as the mid-point of our five years strategy. Recognising that both the external environment and Pause as an organisation have developed and changed in this time, we will be reviewing the best way to achieve our vision, including continuing to build our directly delivery practice work and considering how to ensure the learning from all our Practices is embraced by our partners across local authorities.
We will continue to fight to sustain as many Pause Practices as possible in an increasingly challenging financial environment and make the case for our work proudly, setting up new Practices where we can. We will also draw on our learning to try new things that we believe will contribute to a time where no family loses a child more than once.
Our influencing work will continue, with a particular focus on improvements to the children’s services system through the implementation of the Care Review recommendations and we will start exploring activities – both local and national – in the lead up to the 2024 General Election. As always, we will continue to draw on experience and insight from women and Pause Practices in all our communications and influencing work, with a particular focus on developing co-production as a way of working to create change.
We will continue to aim to be an excellent employer, determined to ensure a happy, healthy workplace that embraces diversity and is continually working towards being an anti-racist
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organisation. Furthermore, as a hybrid organisation with many employees working from home, we are a low emission organisation, but are nevertheless thoughtful about minimising our environmental impact. We minimise unnecessary travel, are considerate about modes of transport and make careful consumer choices.
We anticipate the next year will be a time of both challenge and are confident that the Pause people and partners across the country have the skills and experience to rise to it. The lives of the women who work with Pause will not get easier in a difficult external environment and the work we do will continue to be demanding and inspiring in equal measure. All our efforts will focus on supporting women to create the foundations for change in their lives and learning from them to create change more widely for other children and families.
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Financial Review
Financial position
During the year 2022/23, Pause received income of £2,243,477, of which £672,101 was from traded income and £778,465 from trusts and grants. Pause incurred £2,456,176 expenditure in the year, of which £757,998 relates to delivery in the Liverpool City Region, which was funded by Liverpool, Wirral, Halton and Knowsley local authorities. This resulted in a planned deficit of 212,699, which included investment from reserves in a range of projects, including influencing and campaigns work and evaluation (see below: Reserves policy). At the end of the year 2022/23, Pause carried forward £19,866 in restricted reserves and £933,538 in unrestricted reserves.
Reserves policy
The purpose of the General Fund Policy for Pause (the Reserves policy) is to ensure the stability of the mission, programmes, employment of staff and ongoing operations of the organisation. Reserves are not intended to replace a permanent loss of funds or eliminate an ongoing budget gap.
Pause’s reserves policy requires maintaining the equivalent of three months of operating costs. In 2022/2023, this equated to £616,329, a figure which includes £218,610 of costs currently covered by restricted funds. In addition, the reserves should cover any contracts and ongoing costs for which Pause would be liable should Pause cease. It was agreed in 2021 that it would be prudent to include an additional £200,000 for these purposes, and this remains the case making a minimum reserve of £800,000 for 2022/2023. At the end of March 2023, Pause held £933,538 of unrestricted funds this is within the requirements of our Reserves Policy.
The trustees have designated some of the Pause reserves to two areas of activity: influencing and campaigning, particularly the initial building of our capacity in this work, and support for local authorities to sustain Pause Practices in key areas where the set criteria is met.
Risks and uncertainties
Pause maintains a risk register which is updated by the Leadership Team and is reviewed by the Trustees on a regular basis. The Risk Register has four sections: Financial, Operational, External and Governance. The Risk and Finance Committee has oversight of all strategic organisational risk and reviews the full Risk Register at every meeting. The Board of Trustees is given a report on current risk issues affecting the organisation at each meeting.
During the period of reporting, the key risks considered by the Trustees related to:
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A slowing of growth due to increased financial pressures in local areas and a longer approval process for practices to open. The cost-of-living pressures and inflation are putting increasing pressures on local areas as well.
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The impact of a reduction in income. Pause has an income generation strategy and sustainability plan for practices and will focus on securing income from a range of funders in the coming years.
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The impact of practices failing to achieve funding to sustain. Much of the support of the national team is focused around securing this for practices, particularly through the demonstration of cost benefit at a local level.
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Safeguarding risk. Each Pause Practice is employed by the local delivery host and follows their localised safeguarding policy. Pause has a clear overarching safeguarding and critical incident notification process. We monitor any critical incidents that take place in Pause Practices and report quarterly on these to the Practice Committee. We have put in place additional safeguarding measures this year, as we began delivering services directly and regularly check that our own safeguarding policy is being followed.
Although the Pause financial position is stable, it is important to understand the longer-term financial risk faced by Pause if local areas are no longer able to support Pause Practices. The Trustees and Risk and Finance Committee regularly review this risk and keep a focus on income generation and projected cash flows.
It continues to be vital to monitor practices and collect data that will provide assurance of quality and fidelity to the model. As Pause grows and as local areas understand more about practice, some may want to deliver more in-house. If this happens, there is a risk that some places adopt a model that is less effective. Pause works with local areas to spread learning, support wider changes to the way they work with vulnerable groups and improve their understanding of the group of women with whom Pause works, in order to mitigate this risk.
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Structure, Governance and Management
Structure
Pause is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity governed by a memorandum and articles of association. The usual service model is that through formal arrangements with delivery partners, often local authorities but also sometimes other voluntary sector bodies, including Pause, delivers Pause Practices. Delivery partners must sign a Practice Agreement, committing them to working within the Pause Framework. Pause employs a national team, led by the Chief Executive who reports to the Board of Trustees and also delivers a regional model of a Pause Practice in the Liverpool City Region.
Governance
Nat Sloane has been Chair of Pause since February 2019. The Board meets at least four times per year. The Board has three committees that focus on key aspects of performance and make recommendations to the main board. These are the Practice Committee, the Risk and Finance Committee and the Development Committee. These committees are each chaired by a Trustee and also meet at least four times each year. A sub-committee of the Practice Committee has been set up to attend to the governance of those practices directly delivered by Pause.
Trustees carry out a skills audit on an annual basis and use the results to identify key gaps. Once this is done, if necessary, a search is undertaken for appropriate Trustees to fill any gaps. The Board appoints Trustees directly.
New Trustees undertake a tailored induction programme intended to give them an understanding of the role of Trustee, the work of the organisation and any particular information appropriate for their specific role. Throughout the year, when possible, Trustees are given opportunities to visit practices and meet with staff and beneficiaries outside the usual governance calendar.
Trustees discuss the principles of the Charity Governance Code and have a rolling action plan developed to ensure ongoing improvement and continuous review.
Management
The Board of Trustees delegates operational management of the charity to the Chief Executive, with a scheme of delegation outlined in the governance policies. In the financial year 2022-23, the Pause Leadership Team consisted of the Chief Executive, the Director of Practice and Learning, the Director of Business Development and the Director of Communications and Influencing, with each director leading a team of staff.
Pay is set for Pause staff through a process of benchmarking against other organisations and within the organisation. The Board considers staff pay on at least an annual basis.
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Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities
The Trustees (who are also directors of Pause Creating Space for Change for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including FRS 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’.
Company law requires Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial period which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the Trustees are aware:
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There is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware;
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The Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Section 381 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Moore Kingston Smith LLP were appointed auditor in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.
By order of the Board of Trustees N Sloane (Chair)
Date: 30 November 2023
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Independent Auditor’s report
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Pause Creating Space for Change (‘the company’) for the year ended 31 March 2023 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard Applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion the financial statements:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2023 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs(UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
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Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
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the information given in the trustees’ annual report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
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the trustees’ annual report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
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adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
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the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
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certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
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we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit or
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the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies exemption in preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and from preparing a Strategic Report.
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Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 16, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.
Explanation as to what extent the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
The objectives of our audit in respect of fraud, are; to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses to those assessed risks; and to respond appropriately to instances of fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both management and those charged with governance of the charitable company.
Our approach was as follows:
- We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the charitable company and considered that the most significant are the Companies Act 2006, the Charities Act 2011, the Charity SORP, and UK financial reporting standards as issued by the Financial Reporting Council
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-
We obtained an understanding of how the charitable company complies with these requirements by discussions with management and those charged with governance.
-
We assessed the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements, including the risk of material misstatement due to fraud and how it might occur, by holding discussions with management and those charged with governance.
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We inquired of management and those charged with governance as to any known instances of non-compliance or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations.
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Based on this understanding, we designed specific appropriate audit procedures to identify instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. This included making enquiries of management and those charged with governance and obtaining additional corroborative evidence as required.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:
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Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
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Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the charitable company’s internal control.
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Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees.
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Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the charitable company to cease to continue as a going concern.
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Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
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Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to any party other than the charitable company and charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Luke Holt (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Moore Kingston Smith LLP, Statutory Auditor
Date: 7 December 2023
6[th] Floor 9 Appold Street London EC1A 2AP
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Statement of Financial Activities for the year end 31 March 2023 (Incorporating the income and expenditure account)
| Income from Grants/Donations Charitable activities: Total Income Expenditure on Raising Funds Charitable Activities Total Expenditure Net Income/Expenditure Transfers between funds (Overhead Costs charged to LCR) Total funds brought forward Total Funds Carried Forward |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds For the year Ended Total Funds for the year Ended March 2023 March 2022 Note £ £ £ £ 2 693,913 877,463 1,571,376 711,118 672,101 - 672,101 765,500 1,366,014 877,463 2,243,477 1,476,618 - - - - 3 1,628,670 827,506 2,456,176 2,537,321 1,628,670 827,506 2,456,176 2,537,321 -262,656 49,957 -212,699 -1,060,703 9 49,948 -49,948 - - 1,146,246 19,857 1,166,103 2,226,806 |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds For the year Ended Total Funds for the year Ended March 2023 March 2022 Note £ £ £ £ 2 693,913 877,463 1,571,376 711,118 672,101 - 672,101 765,500 1,366,014 877,463 2,243,477 1,476,618 - - - - 3 1,628,670 827,506 2,456,176 2,537,321 1,628,670 827,506 2,456,176 2,537,321 -262,656 49,957 -212,699 -1,060,703 9 49,948 -49,948 - - 1,146,246 19,857 1,166,103 2,226,806 |
|---|---|---|
| 1,366,014 877,463 2,243,477 1,476,618 - - - - 1,628,670 827,506 2,456,176 2,537,321 |
||
| 1,628,670 827,506 2,456,176 2,537,321 |
||
| -262,656 49,957 -212,699 -1,060,703 49,948 -49,948 - - 1,146,246 19,857 1,166,103 2,226,806 |
||
| 933,538 19,866 953,404 1,166,103 |
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| Current assets Note Debtors: 7 Cash at bank and in hand Creditors 8 Net Current Assets Net assets Capital and Reserves Restricted funds 9 General funds Total funds carried forward |
31 March 2023 31 March 2022 £ £ 297,746 199,262 726,619 1,053,741 |
|---|---|
| 1,024,365 1,253,003 70,961 86,900 |
|
| 953,404 1,166,103 |
|
| 953,404 1,166,103 19,866 19,857 933,538 1,146,246 |
|
| 953,404 1,166,103 |
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
N Sloane (Chair)
Date: 30 November 2023
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Statement of cash flows to 31 March 2023
| Cash Flows from operating activities Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities Change in cash in the reporting period Cash at the beginning of the reporting period Cash at the end of the reporting period Net income/(expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities) Adjustments For: (Increase)/decrease in debtors Increase/ (decrease in creditors) Net cash provided by operating activities Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year Cash and cash equivalents consists of: Cash at bank and in hand |
31 March 2023 31 March 2022 £ £ (327,122) (621,928) (327,122) (621,928) 1,053,741 1,675,669 726,619 1,053,741 (212,699) (1,060,703) (98,484) 976,866 (15,939) (538,091) |
|---|---|
| (327,122) (621,928) 1,053,741 1,675,669 726,619 1,053,741 726,619 1,053,741 |
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1. Accounting Policies
The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015). The Charity is a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
Basis of Accounting
The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with applicable accounting standards. All incoming and outgoing resources are dealt with on the accruals basis, unless otherwise stated below. The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound.
Income
Voluntary income, including grants, is recognised in the period in which the charitable company is entitled to receipt, there is a probability of receipt, and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from charitable activities is recognised as earned.
Going Concern Basis
The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the charitable company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and there are no material uncertainties.
Accounting estimates and areas of judgement
The Trustees have considered the accounting policies adopted and no judgements were required that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.
Expenditure Allocation
The directors have allocated staff costs on the basis of the amount of time spent by each member of staff in each area of activity of the charity.
Governance Costs
Governance costs relate to the direct costs associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charitable company and include the costs of external audit, secretariat and other constitutional related costs.
Pension Scheme Arrangements
This scheme is with the People’s Pension and Pause contributes six percent employer contributions to all staff.
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Funds
Unrestricted Funds – These are donations and other incoming resources receivable or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds.
Restricted Funds – These are funds which are to be used for specific purposes, as laid down by the donor.
Judgements and Estimates
In application of the Charity’s accounting policies, the board is required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised, if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
There are no estimates and assumptions which are believed to have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities in the current or prior period.
Financial Instruments
Debtors and creditors receivable or payable within one year of the reporting date are carried initially at their transaction price and subsequently at settlement value. Debtors and creditors that are receivable or payable in more than one year and not subject to a market rate of interest are measured at the present value of the expected future receipts or payment discounted at a market rate of interest.
Direct costs
These relate to costs directly attributed to the delivery of key projects.
Allocation of Support Costs
Support costs are those costs which do not relate to a single activity or project. This includes salary costs. The analysis of support costs and the bases of apportionment applied are shown in note 4.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include cash at bank and in hand and short-term deposits with a maturity date of three months or less.
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Employee Benefits
The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense. The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received. Termination benefits are recognised as an expense when demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefit.
2. Voluntary income
| Donations Unrestricted Income (included in Donations above) Restricted Income (see Note 9) Total |
Year ended Year ended 31 March 2023 31 March 2022 £ £ 1,571,376 711,118 |
|---|---|
| 1,571,376 711,118 693,913 266,421 877,463 444,697 |
|
| 1,571,376 711,118 |
There are no un-fulfilled conditions attached to any of the government grant funding included above.
3. Charitable Activities
| National team Grants to Pause Practices Auditors Fees Trustee Expenses Professional Indemnity Insurance Total Unrestricted Expenditure Restricted Expenditure (see Note 9) Total |
Direct Costs Support Costs Year ended Year ended 31 March 2023 31 March 2022 £ £ £ £ 673,660 1,066,983 1,740,643 1,363,294 696,841 - 696,841 1,158,124 16,356 16,356 12,280 134 134 1,421 2,202 2,202 2,202 |
|---|---|
| 1,370,501 1,085,675 2,456,176 2,537,321 612,512 966,201 1,578,714 1,209,342 757,989 119,474 877,463 1,327,979 |
|
| 1,370,501 1,085,675 2,456,176 2,537,321 |
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Trustee travel expenditure
No Trustees were reimbursed for travel expenses during the year. The trustee expenditure relates to an awayday, and the costs were for Room Hire and refreshments.
4. Support Costs
Support costs include and apportionment of salary costs to Charitable Activities as detailed below.
| Activities Salary Costs Other Staff Costs Grants to Pause Practice Rent & Rates Insurance IT Equipment, Support & Phones Office Costs HR & Finance Quality Assurance Audit Trustee Expenses Total 5. Staff Costs Salaries Social Security Pensions Recruitment Costs Total |
Year ended March 2023 Year ended March 2022 £ £ 833,027 886,446 39,215 25,600 0 1,011,988 89,006 65,011 9,742 9,416 30,908 35,745 5,773 5,898 4,774 509 56,739 55,274 16,356 0 134 0 1,085,675 1,872,877 Year ended 31 March 2023 Year ended 31 March 2022 £ £ 1,625,885 1,622,704 168,274 163,009 88,819 87,174 2,117 7,268 |
|---|---|
| 1,885,095 1,880,155 |
Remuneration over £60,000 during 2022/23 Three employees: £60,000-£69,999. (2022: three) One employee: £80,000-£89,999. (2022: one) Pension Costs for employee: £5,337 (2022: £5,172)
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6. Staff Numbers
The average monthly head count was 38 staff (in 2022 it was 39 staff).
| Department Executive and Operations Practice and Learning Communications and Influencing Liverpool City Region Business Development Total |
2023 2022 4 4 8 12 6 3 14 14 6 6 |
|---|---|
| 38 39 |
Key management personnel
In 2022/23, Pause made a change to the roles included in the definition of Key Management Personnel. Pause is a larger and more complex organisation than when Key Management Personnel was last reviewed in 2017. The whole staff team is essential to the successful development of the organisation, but it is not practical to include all staff as KMP, so for practical purposes and because the Leadership Team is responsible and accountable for the delivery of the strategy, we now include only Leadership Team roles in the definition. Roles included in this period are:
-
Chief Executive
-
Director of Practice and Learning
-
Director of Communications and Influencing
-
Director of Business Development
The total key management personnel renumeration including during the year is £332,766. (2022: £744,550). The previous year comparison is larger as in 2021/22 our definition included a larger group of staff.
7. Debtors
| . Debtors |
|
|---|---|
| Trade Debtors Total |
As at 31 March 2023 As at 31 March 2022 £ £ 297,746 199,262 |
| 297,746 199,262 |
Debtors include £198k 30 – 60 days and £100k current. Of the overdue debtors £147k is from local authorities in the Liverpool City Region.
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| 8. Creditors |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at | 31 March | As at 31 | March | ||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||
| £ | £ | ||||||||
| Trade Creditors | 27,011 | 27,479 | |||||||
| Accruals | 24,570 | 46,271 | |||||||
| Taxation & Social Security Payable | 5,950 | 13,150 | |||||||
| Salaries | - | - | |||||||
| HMRC | 5,899 | - | |||||||
| Pensions | 7,531 | - | |||||||
| Total | 70,961 | 86,900 | |||||||
| 9. Funds |
|||||||||
| Opening Balance 1 April |
Incoming | Outgoing | Transfers | Balance 31 March 2023 |
|||||
| 2022 | Resources | Resources | |||||||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | |||||||||
| General unrestricted funds | 1,146,246 | 1,366,013 |
(1,628,670) | 49,948 |
933,537 | ||||
| Total | 1,146,246 | 1,366,013 |
(1,628,670) | 49,948 |
933,537 | ||||
| Restricted funds | |||||||||
| Esmée Fairbairn Foundation | 19,857 | 119,465 |
(119,455) | 19,867 | |||||
| Liverpool City Region | 0 | 757,999 |
(708,051) | (49,948) |
0 | ||||
| Total | 19,857 | 877,464 |
(827,506) | (49,948) |
19,867 | ||||
| Total funds | 1,166,103 | 2,243,477 |
(2,456,176) | 0 | 953,404 |
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Description of funds
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Three-year grant to fund to ensure that women’s experiences influence changes in policy and practice.
Liverpool City Region
Funding from local authorities to deliver the Pause Programme in the Liverpool City Region.
Fund Transfers
National team support staff salary costs crossed charged to Liverpool City region practices.
10. Taxation
The company is a registered charity and does not undertake non-charitable activities and is entitled to tax exemption by the HM Revenue and Customs.
11. Capital
Pause Creating Space for Change is a company limited by guarantee. In the event of a winding up of the charitable company the Members’ individual liability is restricted to an amount not exceeding £10.
12. Related Party Transactions
There were no related party transactions during this period.
13. Net Assets between Funds
| Current Assets Current Liabilities Total Current Assets Current Liabilities Total |
Year ended March 31 2023 General Fund Restricted Funds Total 1,004,499 19,866 1,024,365 (70,961) - (70,961) |
|---|---|
| 933,538 19,866 953,404 Year ended March 31 2022 General Fund Restricted Funds Total 1,233,075 19,928 1,253,003 (86,829) (71) (86,900) |
|
| 1,146,246 19,857 1,166,103 |
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Pause, Creating Space for Change Company Registration Number: 09703298 Charity Registration Number: 1170310
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